


Dear Dad

by 3six12



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:35:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24884683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/3six12/pseuds/3six12
Summary: All those letters, tucked away, found by an analytical eye who wanted for nothing more than to ease the pain.
Relationships: James T. Kirk/Spock
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is being uploaded in small increments, my goal being once weekly, to help me finish it.

After the chaos that was Yorktown, Starfleet took a step back, recalling all its forces and huddling close to the relative safety of strictly Federation space. Yorktown, however, wasn’t the end to the chaos. With fears of shared sentiment amongst deep space crews and of those who might not have been but now were questioning, Starfleet grounded all active duty members.

In the back of everyone’s minds was the thought that what happened to Captain Edison, that what happened to the entirety of the crew of the _U.S.S. Franklin,_ was unique. The circumstances were unprecedented, although not altogether impossible. That factor alone soured bellies with fear and apprehension. Worse yet, with suspicion.

Captain Kirk, having found that his own thoughts at times mirrored those of Captain Edison’s – only insomuch as he felt alone and occasionally abandoned by Starfleet – took a hard step back, isolating himself from all those around him as much as being the Captain of the _Enterprise_ allowed. Edison’s words had stuck with Kirk, however, haunting him in the quiet moments he had truly alone. All his mindless ramblings about the Federation, about what it stood for and what it didn’t, about the conflict that it inevitably wrought, combined with the betrayal of Admiral Marcus, the covered up creation of Khan and the other super human soldiers, the eagerness of Starfleet to push where it wasn’t wanted, had Kirk fearing the anger he found bubbling up in his conscience.

Perhaps Starfleet knew this too, as they recalled all their ship and all their crew and brought together all the psychologists and psychiatrists and counselors and healers from all the beings represented by the Federation. The debriefing, as quiet as Starfleet tried to make it, soon spread to first year cadets, enveloping even those that had retired from the service years ago. Each patient was treated methodically, given a scientific approach and ushered out so as to make room for the next patient. This brought questions of its own, speculation that the procedures were too rushed. Either way, Starfleet had yet to give a timeline and one bleak day, heavy enough as it was with fog, each comm and each PADD blinked with the same message.

*"Effective today, all members of Starfleet are officially listed as “duty: inactive.” Should this change, a new message will be sent. Please await further instructions from your superior officers."*

That, however, was also vague and effectively useless as the only instructions Kirk had for his crew was to treat the time like shore leave and keep their comms handy. He promised to tell them the second he got word. He kept his composure, even as the faces around him morphed into unease and the quiet murmurs of doubt began.

Spock, at his side, was a beacon of logic, his steadfast resolve perhaps doing something for the crew although even Kirk doubted that. With little else to do, Kirk dismissed them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are my bread and butter. So please, if you feel so inclined?

Bones had gone home to Georgia. Or at least, had gone to be close to his daughter Joanna, as Bones had admitted long ago that Georgia was no longer his home. Jocelyn had taken that from him as well. Kirk had hugged him fiercely, clinging to him and only loosening his grip when he felt Bones’ arms wrap around him, a light kiss being pressed above his ear. Holding him at arm’s length, Bones nodded, reminding Kirk to message him.

Kirk didn’t see the rest of the crew off personally, knowing that they were eager to be free of the confines that Starfleet, in the last few weeks, had put on them. All the same, he wished them well, trying desperately to ignore the gnawing rumblings that he might not see them again.

Assuming that Spock would depart for the Vulcan colony - yet un-named, in part because naming the colony would be to admit to loss - Kirk was all together unprepared for the Vulcan that showed up at his door. The studio apartment that Kirk kept in San Francisco was spacious yet seemed so small as Spock silently took in Kirk's home. It wasn't a mess, in fact as tidy as he kept his quarters aboard the _Enterprise_ , but still Kirk felt self-conscious under Spocks scrutinizing gauze. Yet Kirk knew that Spock did not judge and reminding himself of this calmed his nerves.

"Something to drink?" Kirk asked, moving to the kitchen.

Spock came to stand at the island, resting his cool hands on the equally cool marbles surface. "Please. Whatever you have will be welcomed."

Kirk nodded, pulling out two mugs from the cabinet and turning on the kettle. He had amassed a large collection of teas and other beverages that for any other name he considered tea as well after having tried to impress a young man who instead enjoyed the company of another. His lack of commitment - communication really as Kirk wasn't per say against ethical non-monogamy - wasn't enough to deter Kirk from his newfound obsession.

When he sat a decorative wooden case before Spock and lifted the lid to display the assortment of tea packets, Kirk could see the same obsession burning in Spock’s calm eyes. He perused the selection carefully, pulling out packets to read the contents before carefully replacing them and moving on to the next. He finally decided on a tea that Kirk considered the spiciest to ever hit his tongue. It went well with cream and honey and having that in mind Kirk pulled out a bag as well. He let the bags steep and turned back to Spock.

"Not that I mind you coming around but what brings you here?"

Spock looked at him for a moment, long enough for Kirk to start feeling nervous, before dropping his gaze and asking in an even tone, "What are your intentions for this leave?"

And it was a leading question if Kirk ever heard one. Spock had a tendency to do so when he wanted something but didn't want to ask for it outright. It didn't take Kirk long to catch on as Spock wasn't typically one to beat around the bush.

"I had thought to go back to Iowa, escape the bustle. Yourself?"

The kettle had beeped, and Kirk had filled the mugs. He handed one to Spock, their fingers touching during the pass. Kirk stilled, his eyes darting to Spock’s and, for all that he tried not to, Kirk could have sworn that he saw something in them, something that was amplified the longer that Spock allowed his fingers to rest on Kirk's. Then the moment was broken and Spock pulled away, his eyes dropping to his mug. Kirk could still feel the pull of Spocks fingers against his. His heart thudded in his chest, his ears full and ringing in the deafening silence.

"Undecided." Spock took a sip, his tongue flitting out to catch the drops on his lips, his words lightly shocking Kirk. "There is plenty to do for me in San Francisco, yet I find I have no desire to stay here."

Kirk hummed, taking a tentative sip of the tea after adding the cream and honey. It was as good as he remembered. Stealing himself, Kirk plunged in, his voice not as steady as he would have liked. "You can always come to Iowa. Gotta warn you though, there's not much to do out there."

Spock’s lips pulled back in that pleased smile of his, eyes softening in agreement. He nodded, "Your offer is kind. I would not burden you?"

"Of course not, Spock. I'd welcome your company. It'll probably keep me sane."

"Then for both your benefit, as well as that of Dr. McCoy, I accept your offer."

Kirk nodded, smiling openly at the smile he could see forming behind Spock’s mug.


End file.
